North Myrtle City Council proposes to make ordinance language more inclusive to women

North Myrtle Beach City Council looks to adopt a rule that would change the language in the city’s Code of Ordinances to be more inclusive of women.

On Monday, the council opened discussions for the proposed ordinance that would replace masculine pronouns with gender inclusive pronouns.

City spokesman Patrick Dowling said the staff suggested the ordinance after Municode, a company that manages the city’s ordinances online, marketed it to their clients.

The ordinance “reflects the reality of the city’s organizations and the city’s elected bodies, not just city council but all the city’s departments and divisions and all the city’s commissions, such as the planning commission and board of adjustments” Dowling said. “They have males and females on them.”

During public comment, council members and residents exchanged concerns and support of the proposed ordinance that would include changing the terms “he” to “he/she;” and “chairman” to “chairperson.”

Emily Florio, a resident, said changing the code’s language is a political move by the council.

Councilwoman Nicole Fontana said the ordinance is not political but a chance to recognize women in their positions.

“We have a lot of new firefighters that are women,” she said. “We have a lot of new police officers that are women. We have a mayor that has been in the position over 12 years and is still referred to as ‘him.’”

Florio also mentioned how the U.S. House of Representatives say “amen” and “a-woman” after praying. She said North Myrtle Beach is headed in that direction.

Hatley assured her that was not the case after telling her “amen” is not gendered. It is a Hebrew word meaning “so be it.”

In January, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver ended his opening prayer that opened the new session of the U.S. House with “Amen and A-woman,” according to the Associated Press. The United Methodist Minister received backlash from conservatives who said Cleaver didn’t understand the meaning of the word. But Cleaver said at the time it was a pun intended to recognize his women colleagues.

The ordinance will need to pass a second reading to be adopted.

This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 10:00 AM.